Should I see a physical therapist intern?
Disclaimer: This article post is made for education and entertainment purposes only. Do not substitute the information noted in this article for medical advice. Most Physical Therapy treatment plans require a full consultation with a licensed Physical Therapist; do not attempt to self diagnose and self manage your condition without professional help.
Imagine walking into a physical therapy clinic with a bad case of low back pain. After filling out the endless paperwork, you’re already fatigued and your back is tired. A well-dressed young woman comes to take you to a treatment room. After exchanging greetings and you find out that this woman is a student from a local physical therapy program and that she is on track to graduate soon from the program. She explains will be handling your case during her internship here.
You might think to yourself. I hope she does a good job but does she really know how to fix my problem?
It’s natural to have apprehension about working with an intern. It’s true that they lack the years of experience that a licensed professional would have. However, there may be some benefit to working with one (and by that I don’t mean that you’re the one sacrificing your body for the sake of science).
I was a clinical instructor for an outpatient orthopedic PT clinic for two years and have taken on 5 interns from University of Southern California (USC). Let me shed light on whether or not seeing an intern is right for you.
How can I tell if I am being treated by an Intern?
Most interns will introduce themselves as Students of Physical Therapy (SPT) or as an intern. Some may even have a badge and name tag that Student Physical Therapist or something similar. However, this is not always the case as some private practices do not encourage disclosure of such information for fear that clients may not want to see an intern.
How much experience does a Physical Therapy intern have?
A Physical Therapy degree takes three years after graduating college; all graduates of PT programs have a DPT (Doctorate of Physical Therapy). An intern is a student who is still in-training; they likely have completed at least one to several semesters of coursework.
The program that I was a part of at Washington University in St. Louis had internships after the first year of study was completed. Our program had a total of four internships. So it is possible to encounter an intern who is just cutting their teeth on their first internship or they could be on their last leg nearing graduation.
Should I see an intern if the clinic I go to schedules me with one?
You always have a choice whether or not you see an intern, despite how busy the clinic scheduling seems to be. Afterall, you or your insurance is paying for the visit so you get to choose whether or not you want to be seen by any particular clinician or you want to see someone else.
The one instance where you should not be seen exclusively by an intern without supervision is if you are covered under Medicare for your method of payment. Legally, interns need direct supervision from a licensed PT if they wanted to cotreat a patient under Medicare.
What are some benefits of seeing an intern?
Benefit #1: More time spent on treatment
Seeing an intern can be a positive experience. Most of the interns that I have supervised had excellent rapport with the clients that they saw. The clinic I worked in allowed interns to have full-hour sessions with the clients which means that they performed all aspects of the treatment including evaluating, manual therapy, movement correction exercises.
(The Staff Physical Therapists spent a half hour with the clients) Having that seamless session where the start and finish are with the same person can be very pleasant in an industry that has grown to be quite fast-paced normally.
Interns also have the edge of having the most updated information since they have one foot in the classroom. Therapists who have practiced outside of the classroom can grow a out of touch with the most recent research and guidelines. Since the Physical Therapy world is always evolving, it is quite refreshing to have an intern help to educate both clinicians and patients about new developments.
Benefit #2: Intern performance is highly incentivized (Or they may fail the internship)
If you are concerned regarding the standard of care you’ll get from an intern, know that there are several safety nets that the their PT program has put into place to ensure that students take their internships seriously
An intern has a supervisor PT or clinical instructor to monitor their progress. Their goal is to pass the internship so that they can graduate. The interns are incentivized to provide excellent care.
Drawbacks to seeing an intern
Here are some reasons where seeing an intern may be less desirable depending on personal preference and circumstances
Beginners need more time
Most interns will take more time developing a treatment plan, especially those who are just starting out. If you need to be in and out of the clinic quite quickly because you need to rush home to make dinner or take your child to a soccer game, a more efficient session is more desirable.
Many interns will also perform a battery of tests because that is what they are taught, while more experienced clinicians will get to the root of the problem more quickly. This is not necessarily a bad practice.
Confidence matters
I struggled with this personally through my first two internships. I had difficulty exuding confidence. Experienced therapists will need this to build trust and rapport with clients. If you are the type of person who prefers to work with an assertive professional, then seeing an experienced PT may more suited for you.
Summary
Seeing a Physical Therapist intern comes with some perks. You’ll see someone who likely has the most cutting edge information, is incentivized to do an excellent job, not to mention usually has youthful energy. The drawbacks could lie in getting through a visit faster for those who run a tighter schedule and those who need more of an assertive experienced professional.
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